So this is NOT a newsletter about Taylor Swift, but it IS a newsletter (at least in part) about performances of femininity, expectations of women and girls, and constructions of power. So it’s not not about Taylor Swift either!
Have you listened to the new album? Do you have thoughts? My oldest, upon listening to a few tracks, said, “A lot of her songs sound the same,” and I don’t disagree. But I still find myself humming along to “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me,” “Florida,” “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart,” “So Long London,” and “Down Bad.”
I’m so interested in the criticism that emphasizes the messiness of the album (too long, needs editing, she apparently is big enough to give very few fucks); the psychology of fandom; a feud that’s apparently still thriving??; and the lore of it all.
What do you think? Feelings? Thoughts? Is anyone else shocked to be devoting so much brain space (by which I mean any at all) to Matty Healy?!
I love it and part of the reason why stems from my perpetual interest in how women (and myself) figure out how to shed our “nice girl” programming. I feel like Taylor was groomed to be so safe, so polite, to work hard, to be relatable and humble while still being one of the best in her field. All those years of “aw shucks, me?” reactions when she won awards, all the baking cookies for fans… all of that feels so “nice girl coded”
I think there is something really audacious about her deciding, at the height of her fame, to release an album that is messy and angry and grappling with what she owes her fans and what they owe her. It feels like she’s saying “okay, will you still love me now?” and there is such freedom in that for a recovering people pleaser (and mirrors my own journey on that front, so it lands well for me)
Plus I also just love some of the songs. Florida!!! is a bop, I Look in People’s Windows is spare and evocative, Black Dog is OOF (“Old habits die screaming” … I feel that in my bones)
I love it. It’s messy, it’s emotive, it’s every 30+ year old who has had the worst relationships ever getting a chance to dissect it all and painting a moody, palatable picture for everyone else to consume and relate to. And regardless of whether or not people like the songs … this woman made more money than is comprehensible on the Eras tour, uplifted every local economy of the places she performed, paid her workers extremely well, attempted to live a life outside of all of that while under extreme scrutiny, re-recorded several albums AND FOUND TIME to write and record 31 new songs! If anything this should be a testament to how what women will do will never be enough for some people so we should collectively stop giving a shit and do whatever the hell we want!
I love it all too. I see it as progress by mini steps. All the criticisms you listed - too long etc, it’s not about how she looks or that she can’t sing or write or perform or whatever. For once, it’s about her output. She’s proven beyond doubt that she’s a titan in the field and can single-handedly move needles - financial, political and seismic! I mean of course, she’s still held to a much higher standard than anyone else … but it’s a step forward. Now the criticism is not that she’s not an ‘artist’ but that she’s not a ‘poet’!!!
I think some of it has to do with a larger audience, maybe? The Swiftie fandom has been along for the ride, they have their own language almost, a vocabulary that unites them as a fandom and adheres them to Swift herself. She is famously good to her fans, seemingly in a two way relationship with them. But the rest of the public that’s just now boarded the train, they’re a little lost, trying to play catch up and missing a lot of her clues and Easter eggs - which are a core part of her attraction to fans. This new audience is looking for a traditional album, showcasing new ideas/sound and thematically cohesive. That’s not what they got. As my teenage daughter said - this album is not for her to make money, get recognition or win awards, this album is for her because she needed it. Sometimes, that’s enough. It certainly seems to be for the Swifties.
As someone who spent ages 27-35 with high functioning depression, had a mental health crisis, and grieved the loss of a loved one - I relate to this album more than any of her others. I love it so much.
I liked the album, I respect her but am not a Superfan. It’s catchy and some songs are great. Not everything an artist does needs to be GROUNDBREAKING. My girls adore her and I am fine with that; it’s cute even. I just knew before it came out it would get negative critic reviews bc the world loves to tear a powerful woman down 😬
Totally felt the same way your daughter did. After the first listen (and before I was able to listen to the whole thing -- all 31 songs good grief -- in order), it felt like one long song. One blending into another. I liked the vibe but it felt fairly monotone in style.
Then, after the second and 3rd listen, I picked out particular songs and some I really enjoy. I love Florida (even though I hated living there and happened to live near Destin, which she references in the song) and Broken Heart.
I agree with what some folks are saying -- she could have used a little editing or could have waited a month or 2 before releasing the second half.
I honestly love how dark and melodramatic so much of it is. I also love that she seems to have an entire song about sex (guilty as sin). And of course, the people who are losing their shit about how inappropriate these songs are for children -- reminds me of people getting worked up about Lil Nas X and his song Montero. These are grown adults writing about adult experiences. We are watching lots of musicians grow up in the public eye. Taylor Swift might have been a teenager when we first met her, but she is an adult now. Her fan base is also getting older (although my 11 year old is the real swiftie in our household, I enjoy her music, too). People who are expecting her to continue to write songs for teens and pre-teens are hilarious.
I’m a big fan and pretty well steeped in the “lore,” but sometimes wish I wasn’t so I could stop the intrusive “who is this about” thoughts? I don’t want to look to closely all the time. I think that ruins for me what is so striking about her work: it’s so specific and yet so universal. The times I’ve been stopped cold by a phrase because it brings back a memory…. Similar to what another poster said higher up, I have no elegant response to criticisms, and that’s fine. I know why I like it. I do think with this album she really exercised her power as an artist who does not need to care what you think anymore (in many ways, but I’ll limit this to my thoughts about it being too long, too similar)—she isn’t beholden to a perfectly crafted pop/genre specific strategy, or thinking about what’s marketable. She can just make what she wants to put out in the world with less regard to commercial success or viability.
Every time a new Taylor album drops (and this also happened with Midnights which went on to win AOTY at the Grammys), I hear from non-Swifties in my life (who know I am a Swiftie) that it's bad, or not that good, or it got mixed reviews, and I'm just like... okay?! I never have an elegant response to that; I just can't be objective. I need way more time with this one bc it's so long! I think the whole thing could have just been called "The Anthology," but I do get the title track stuck in my head sometimes because I like the 80s synthy pop sound. Also loving: Down Bad, But Daddy I Love Him, I Can Do It With A Broken Heart (I laughed out loud the first time I heard the chorus), and So High School made me squeal bc it's so cute and funny! Taylor can release whatever she wants, and I'll listen.
My initial feeling on Friday was it felt so long and I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of songs. With the release of her version of 1989 with the vault songs in October, I had years of already loving that album and the whole vibe of it. My kids had the comment that it’s not very fun and they would rather listen to 1989 and Red. they both loved So High School. For the “Travis” songs I prefer The Alchemy.
Over the last few days it’s growing on me, for me I think listening to it in shorter chunks rather than like committing 2 full hours to every track makes me like it more. I Look in People’s Windows is a song I haven’t seen anyone mention much but it’s my current favorite on the second part of the album. And My Boy Only Breaks his Favorite Toys and Down Bad keep getting stuck in my head! Loml is my favorite lyrically and I love a melancholy piano part.
I read a comment that the title of the album is The Tortured Poets Department and people shouldn’t be surprised it deals with a lot of heartbreak and grief.
I adore it in its entirety. It’s fun to sing along, dance with, cry with and listen to. I appreciate hearing all the play on themes musically and lyrically. The repetition feels friendly not boring to me. And I also love that she didn’t have to cut it back to only produce what might have made the most money, captured the most audience hit all the right boxes for pop success- she has the money right now to make as much of WHATEVER THE F she wants and I love that for her. I really think so many of the hate haters are just so jealous. It’s hard being an artist and here this person has made it happen.
On its surface, it’s obviously about MH, but I think in a lot of ways he’s a channel for some of her bigger feelings that were churning while her relationship with Joe withered and died. The dissolution of a long relationship is so exhausting and hard, and then it’s like whatever happens with Matty lit a match and woke her back up and it all came pouring out. IDK! Also very into how much she plays with the mythology of herself through the album.
My initial reaction was not unlike your kid's, but upon further listening the songs started to define themselves. I DO agree with the "too long" criticisms, though - I wish she would have taken a page out of her own folklore/evermore handbook and released the second album a few months after the first one to give us a chance to really sit with and digest the first set of songs. I am normally a front-to-back album listener, but I don't think I'll be listening to all 31 songs again and instead picking and choosing my favorites to relisten to.
One of the main things I’ve noticed about this album is just the insane expectations that some people had of it (and of Taylor in general). I’d say I’m a casual fan (I listen to her a lot, was excited about the album, going to see her in London in the summer) but I wouldn’t exactly describe myself as a devoted Swiftie, and all
I was hoping for from the album was that it would have some songs on it that I would enjoy…same as my hopes for any new album tbh! Whereas some people…I just don’t know what they were expecting but it seemed like A LOT. I was browsing tiktok while I was listening for the first time and seeing comments like “I’m so disappointed because I hate X line in X song” or “I listened to the first 3 songs and turned it off, it’s awful”. Like do people honestly expect to love EVERY SINGLE LINE in EVERY SINGLE SONG of a 31 track album and if there is a single line they find cheesy that’s the whole album ruined?! And what happened to letting music grow on you? I am old enough to remember spending my limited cash on CDs and every one I invested in I would put time into getting to know it…if I liked songs instantly it was a bonus but not my expectation. I feel like now with streaming people give songs one shot (and sometimes just the intros!) and don’t let music bed in like we used to. I was kind of shocked to see a lot of this criticism coming from her fans who obviously had really specific expectations from the album that I don’t really understand! For what it’s worth it definitely exceeded mine, there are loads of songs that I loved instantly and most of the others have grown on me since. I’ve been loving it!
The first listen I thought it was one note and similar to folklore/evermore, but now I definitely am vibing with it! And I actually feel like my favorite tracks on it vibe more with the slower tracks on Lover and Reputation
I wrote about this in my newsletter this week extensively, probably too extensively as it’s titled, “96 Thoughts This Therapist Had While Listening to TTPD for the First Time.”
I walked away from it knowing there would be lots of takes on it, which is everyone’s right, but feeling, for me, there is something freeing about just saying it all, knowing people will call you juvenile, petty, dramatic, whatever. I don’t need an album on “how to adult” I’m not interested in that. I don’t need lessons on how to be more mature. I won’t regret feeling deeply and having more raucous fun.
Taylor Swift is a talented writer and storyteller. This album feels like her diary bared wide open. It's vulnerable, almost too vulnerable. I listened to all 31 songs on a very long walk on Friday. It was overwhelming. Now I am listening in chunks and liking it better. Her lyrics about being productive with a broken heart resonate with me because we all have our personal stuff, but we also have the rest of our lives to show up for. Liking all the F words too!
Um I have to share this for the thread! Tavi Gevinson (of Rookie fame) wrote an incredible "satirical fan fiction zine" that reads like a mashup of academic analysis, personal musings, and parasocial interrogation. I guess she and Taylor were briefly friends and yeah, I'm gobbling it up.
I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about TTPD, and I’m so excited that there is a safe space on the internet to share them (twitter and instagram tend not the place for nuanced takes 😅) I am also a sucker for discussions about Taylor Swift’s cultural impact and discourse, because I feel like there’s a lot to explore there, and I’m loving this comment section!
I’m at an age where I’ve listened to Taylor Swift for more of my life than not, and I have deeply enjoyed almost every album she’s put out. I was pretty surprised when I listened to the album in one sitting (admittedly, a very bad way to go about it) and found myself desperately wanting it to be over 2/3 of the way through. I came back to it a few days later on shuffle and found a few songs I liked.
I think what’s most interesting to me is that I’ve never felt so confused about not liking an album before. Reviews that state my opinion get a ton of comments to the effect of, “you don’t understand, would you say this about a man, it’s the record of the decade,” and I feel a bit crazy about my opinion. Maybe I don’t understand it? Maybe I’m too old to identify with the songs the way I did in my teens, and rely on the bops to keep me listening? Maybe Taylor has become so unrelatable that her “relatability” superpowers don’t work anymore? Maybe she’s not even trying to be relatable anymore.
I’m not sure, but I am so interested in why this album is so deeply polarizing in a way that does not seem to be about the music.
Probably too cynical but I get the feeling that she had most of this written or germinating and chose to date that specific guy based on the vibe, rather than the other way around...
I have been working really hard on my tendency to view everything in black and white terms and feel like I have made progress as I take in the TTPD discourse: seeing how often critics and fans alike want Taylor Swift to be all good or all bad, and figuring out why that is.
I have been thinking a lot about how much criticism she gets for not being our political or environmental savior (like, I think her suing the kid tracking her jet is stupid but also why is she the one that gets more shit for her carbon consumption than every other celebrity or politician?)
I have read many reactions to her album that insist that if she doesn’t like the cost of fame that she could just stop. I am not trying to white knight her here (see above about black and white thinking!), but this is total bullshit. She can be imperfect is how she handles her fame and still get to complain about it.
It also is weird to me how surprised people are that she might have quite a few songs about a shorter relationship after she ended a six year one. Have these people never had a breakup before and thought the new relationship was going to absolve all the mistakes of the last one? It’s the same heartbreak and growth period with the passion of a new relationship to make it feel extra high stakes.
Lastly, I am loving the album. I only got into Swift in the last year, so this is the first release I was tapped into and it has been fun to listen to it along with so many other people and understand the discourse! Like many others here I did think the songs all sounded similar at first listen, but the more I listen, the more I appreciate it. Not so much the extended tracks yet, but I assume they will grow on me.
I’m more a folklore/ evermore/ ttpd type person, so this album is my vibe naturally, more than Reputation or more pop stuff (it’s fun but “shake it off” type stuff is not my fave). Anyhow, I know she’s a classic white rich female like ballerina farm (must go there with you!), but I really respect the art. And I don’t know why, but Taylor feels a lot more feminism-forward than ballerinafarm. I guess I also relate to her Clara Bow insane asylum imagery. I feel like a lot of women feel “locked up” in one way or another.
I had a similar reaction that it sounded mostly the same but then the songs are still stuck in my head! Loving the song TTPD and my boy only breaks his favorite toys.
So, I'm a casual fan: I listen to what's played on the radio and saw The Eras movie with a girlfriend in the theater. I read lots of pop culture criticism in general, and follow a few Taylor specific people (Abby Gardner and BD McCloy).
I am shocked, as most people, I think, at the depths of Taylor's feelings for Matty Healy. And I wonder if Taylor was more into him because he was so different from Joe and from other guys she dated. I was also shocked at her anger with her fans (not saying it wasn't deserved) because SHE was the one to encourage the behavior. SHE started the random capitalization (it's immature at this point, we can figure out the song is about Kim), SHE is the one throwing the Easter eggs and throwing up a peace sign (or is it the number 2?) that now signifies a double album. I know she's entitled to change her mind, but will she change her behavior to start a new private Era, or just complain instead?
I do like some of her songwriting, but find she repeats a lot of the same imagery, let alone actual words. When I read that a lyric was 'touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto' I thought it was a joke. Poor Travis, Taylor is intellectually obsessed with Matty, and he gets heavy handed football imagery instead. And Joe is dispatched quickly in her haste to get with a bad boy druggie after being cooped up in the house with him for too long. What an end to the 'Lover' era!
I'm, seeing now that people are already re evaluating their takes after letting time pass, and that's great. It's not for me, but I'm not her true audience anyway.
The Tortured Poets Department is a concept album based on the life of Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes. Naturally Swift weaves in her own experiences (even specific details) but ultimately the songs are not about Swift's ex's individually or in sum total, the arc of the album is Plath's life. If you truly want to understand this album you'll need to read Plath & Hughes. Swift's mastery is not singularly for music, but encompasses poetry and literature as well. The song "Robin" may also be about Robin Williams (in addition to referencing her collaborator’s son Robin, and other meanings including her singing this to her younger self), another tortured artist who lived with depression, the song weaves in titles, themes, imagery from his movies. It's likely most of the songs have hidden meanings about other "tortured poets". These songs are so richly layered with different meanings, and this technique is called "braiding" or "weaving" (all the braids in her hair). FYI Ted Hughes wrote a poem titled "Red", it's possible this (Plath/Hughes) arc covers the majority of her body of work going back several albums. TTPD is an album for erudite literature and mystery lovers, we may never uncover all her brilliance. It’s also possible that on May 3 we will get 9 more songs (or something) because Plath left TWO things when she died, 40 poems and a manuscript (she committed suicide). 😉
(No, I am not a “Swiftie”, I started listening to 1989, I’m 13 years older than her and prior to this album never engaged with any of her easter eggs. I’m just a nerd who loves to read including poetry.)
I initially had the same thought, that the sound was the same-old, that songs all sounded similar, etc. It didn't really hook me until the 3rd or 4th listen. Now I am obsessed. The lyrics are so raw, and her vocals so honest. The songs don't sound the same any more, either. My faves are I look in people's windows, So long, London, and another that I haven't heard people mention much: How did it end. I love how she addresses the mad curiosity people seem to have about the end of her relationship with JA, casting a light on their provinciality and salacious gossip. Overall I think the whole album is brilliant and might be my favourite yet, though I also love Folkmore a lot.
I love it and part of the reason why stems from my perpetual interest in how women (and myself) figure out how to shed our “nice girl” programming. I feel like Taylor was groomed to be so safe, so polite, to work hard, to be relatable and humble while still being one of the best in her field. All those years of “aw shucks, me?” reactions when she won awards, all the baking cookies for fans… all of that feels so “nice girl coded”
I think there is something really audacious about her deciding, at the height of her fame, to release an album that is messy and angry and grappling with what she owes her fans and what they owe her. It feels like she’s saying “okay, will you still love me now?” and there is such freedom in that for a recovering people pleaser (and mirrors my own journey on that front, so it lands well for me)
Plus I also just love some of the songs. Florida!!! is a bop, I Look in People’s Windows is spare and evocative, Black Dog is OOF (“Old habits die screaming” … I feel that in my bones)
I love it. It’s messy, it’s emotive, it’s every 30+ year old who has had the worst relationships ever getting a chance to dissect it all and painting a moody, palatable picture for everyone else to consume and relate to. And regardless of whether or not people like the songs … this woman made more money than is comprehensible on the Eras tour, uplifted every local economy of the places she performed, paid her workers extremely well, attempted to live a life outside of all of that while under extreme scrutiny, re-recorded several albums AND FOUND TIME to write and record 31 new songs! If anything this should be a testament to how what women will do will never be enough for some people so we should collectively stop giving a shit and do whatever the hell we want!
I love it all too. I see it as progress by mini steps. All the criticisms you listed - too long etc, it’s not about how she looks or that she can’t sing or write or perform or whatever. For once, it’s about her output. She’s proven beyond doubt that she’s a titan in the field and can single-handedly move needles - financial, political and seismic! I mean of course, she’s still held to a much higher standard than anyone else … but it’s a step forward. Now the criticism is not that she’s not an ‘artist’ but that she’s not a ‘poet’!!!
I think some of it has to do with a larger audience, maybe? The Swiftie fandom has been along for the ride, they have their own language almost, a vocabulary that unites them as a fandom and adheres them to Swift herself. She is famously good to her fans, seemingly in a two way relationship with them. But the rest of the public that’s just now boarded the train, they’re a little lost, trying to play catch up and missing a lot of her clues and Easter eggs - which are a core part of her attraction to fans. This new audience is looking for a traditional album, showcasing new ideas/sound and thematically cohesive. That’s not what they got. As my teenage daughter said - this album is not for her to make money, get recognition or win awards, this album is for her because she needed it. Sometimes, that’s enough. It certainly seems to be for the Swifties.
As someone who spent ages 27-35 with high functioning depression, had a mental health crisis, and grieved the loss of a loved one - I relate to this album more than any of her others. I love it so much.
I liked the album, I respect her but am not a Superfan. It’s catchy and some songs are great. Not everything an artist does needs to be GROUNDBREAKING. My girls adore her and I am fine with that; it’s cute even. I just knew before it came out it would get negative critic reviews bc the world loves to tear a powerful woman down 😬
Totally felt the same way your daughter did. After the first listen (and before I was able to listen to the whole thing -- all 31 songs good grief -- in order), it felt like one long song. One blending into another. I liked the vibe but it felt fairly monotone in style.
Then, after the second and 3rd listen, I picked out particular songs and some I really enjoy. I love Florida (even though I hated living there and happened to live near Destin, which she references in the song) and Broken Heart.
I agree with what some folks are saying -- she could have used a little editing or could have waited a month or 2 before releasing the second half.
I honestly love how dark and melodramatic so much of it is. I also love that she seems to have an entire song about sex (guilty as sin). And of course, the people who are losing their shit about how inappropriate these songs are for children -- reminds me of people getting worked up about Lil Nas X and his song Montero. These are grown adults writing about adult experiences. We are watching lots of musicians grow up in the public eye. Taylor Swift might have been a teenager when we first met her, but she is an adult now. Her fan base is also getting older (although my 11 year old is the real swiftie in our household, I enjoy her music, too). People who are expecting her to continue to write songs for teens and pre-teens are hilarious.
I’m a big fan and pretty well steeped in the “lore,” but sometimes wish I wasn’t so I could stop the intrusive “who is this about” thoughts? I don’t want to look to closely all the time. I think that ruins for me what is so striking about her work: it’s so specific and yet so universal. The times I’ve been stopped cold by a phrase because it brings back a memory…. Similar to what another poster said higher up, I have no elegant response to criticisms, and that’s fine. I know why I like it. I do think with this album she really exercised her power as an artist who does not need to care what you think anymore (in many ways, but I’ll limit this to my thoughts about it being too long, too similar)—she isn’t beholden to a perfectly crafted pop/genre specific strategy, or thinking about what’s marketable. She can just make what she wants to put out in the world with less regard to commercial success or viability.
Every time a new Taylor album drops (and this also happened with Midnights which went on to win AOTY at the Grammys), I hear from non-Swifties in my life (who know I am a Swiftie) that it's bad, or not that good, or it got mixed reviews, and I'm just like... okay?! I never have an elegant response to that; I just can't be objective. I need way more time with this one bc it's so long! I think the whole thing could have just been called "The Anthology," but I do get the title track stuck in my head sometimes because I like the 80s synthy pop sound. Also loving: Down Bad, But Daddy I Love Him, I Can Do It With A Broken Heart (I laughed out loud the first time I heard the chorus), and So High School made me squeal bc it's so cute and funny! Taylor can release whatever she wants, and I'll listen.
My initial feeling on Friday was it felt so long and I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of songs. With the release of her version of 1989 with the vault songs in October, I had years of already loving that album and the whole vibe of it. My kids had the comment that it’s not very fun and they would rather listen to 1989 and Red. they both loved So High School. For the “Travis” songs I prefer The Alchemy.
Over the last few days it’s growing on me, for me I think listening to it in shorter chunks rather than like committing 2 full hours to every track makes me like it more. I Look in People’s Windows is a song I haven’t seen anyone mention much but it’s my current favorite on the second part of the album. And My Boy Only Breaks his Favorite Toys and Down Bad keep getting stuck in my head! Loml is my favorite lyrically and I love a melancholy piano part.
I read a comment that the title of the album is The Tortured Poets Department and people shouldn’t be surprised it deals with a lot of heartbreak and grief.
I adore it in its entirety. It’s fun to sing along, dance with, cry with and listen to. I appreciate hearing all the play on themes musically and lyrically. The repetition feels friendly not boring to me. And I also love that she didn’t have to cut it back to only produce what might have made the most money, captured the most audience hit all the right boxes for pop success- she has the money right now to make as much of WHATEVER THE F she wants and I love that for her. I really think so many of the hate haters are just so jealous. It’s hard being an artist and here this person has made it happen.
On its surface, it’s obviously about MH, but I think in a lot of ways he’s a channel for some of her bigger feelings that were churning while her relationship with Joe withered and died. The dissolution of a long relationship is so exhausting and hard, and then it’s like whatever happens with Matty lit a match and woke her back up and it all came pouring out. IDK! Also very into how much she plays with the mythology of herself through the album.
My initial reaction was not unlike your kid's, but upon further listening the songs started to define themselves. I DO agree with the "too long" criticisms, though - I wish she would have taken a page out of her own folklore/evermore handbook and released the second album a few months after the first one to give us a chance to really sit with and digest the first set of songs. I am normally a front-to-back album listener, but I don't think I'll be listening to all 31 songs again and instead picking and choosing my favorites to relisten to.
One of the main things I’ve noticed about this album is just the insane expectations that some people had of it (and of Taylor in general). I’d say I’m a casual fan (I listen to her a lot, was excited about the album, going to see her in London in the summer) but I wouldn’t exactly describe myself as a devoted Swiftie, and all
I was hoping for from the album was that it would have some songs on it that I would enjoy…same as my hopes for any new album tbh! Whereas some people…I just don’t know what they were expecting but it seemed like A LOT. I was browsing tiktok while I was listening for the first time and seeing comments like “I’m so disappointed because I hate X line in X song” or “I listened to the first 3 songs and turned it off, it’s awful”. Like do people honestly expect to love EVERY SINGLE LINE in EVERY SINGLE SONG of a 31 track album and if there is a single line they find cheesy that’s the whole album ruined?! And what happened to letting music grow on you? I am old enough to remember spending my limited cash on CDs and every one I invested in I would put time into getting to know it…if I liked songs instantly it was a bonus but not my expectation. I feel like now with streaming people give songs one shot (and sometimes just the intros!) and don’t let music bed in like we used to. I was kind of shocked to see a lot of this criticism coming from her fans who obviously had really specific expectations from the album that I don’t really understand! For what it’s worth it definitely exceeded mine, there are loads of songs that I loved instantly and most of the others have grown on me since. I’ve been loving it!
The first listen I thought it was one note and similar to folklore/evermore, but now I definitely am vibing with it! And I actually feel like my favorite tracks on it vibe more with the slower tracks on Lover and Reputation
I wrote about this in my newsletter this week extensively, probably too extensively as it’s titled, “96 Thoughts This Therapist Had While Listening to TTPD for the First Time.”
I walked away from it knowing there would be lots of takes on it, which is everyone’s right, but feeling, for me, there is something freeing about just saying it all, knowing people will call you juvenile, petty, dramatic, whatever. I don’t need an album on “how to adult” I’m not interested in that. I don’t need lessons on how to be more mature. I won’t regret feeling deeply and having more raucous fun.
Taylor Swift is a talented writer and storyteller. This album feels like her diary bared wide open. It's vulnerable, almost too vulnerable. I listened to all 31 songs on a very long walk on Friday. It was overwhelming. Now I am listening in chunks and liking it better. Her lyrics about being productive with a broken heart resonate with me because we all have our personal stuff, but we also have the rest of our lives to show up for. Liking all the F words too!
Um I have to share this for the thread! Tavi Gevinson (of Rookie fame) wrote an incredible "satirical fan fiction zine" that reads like a mashup of academic analysis, personal musings, and parasocial interrogation. I guess she and Taylor were briefly friends and yeah, I'm gobbling it up.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/66198f0957c089516c472a5e/t/661c7283ac898f512a9a9de2/1713140366189/Fan+Fiction-Read.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about TTPD, and I’m so excited that there is a safe space on the internet to share them (twitter and instagram tend not the place for nuanced takes 😅) I am also a sucker for discussions about Taylor Swift’s cultural impact and discourse, because I feel like there’s a lot to explore there, and I’m loving this comment section!
I’m at an age where I’ve listened to Taylor Swift for more of my life than not, and I have deeply enjoyed almost every album she’s put out. I was pretty surprised when I listened to the album in one sitting (admittedly, a very bad way to go about it) and found myself desperately wanting it to be over 2/3 of the way through. I came back to it a few days later on shuffle and found a few songs I liked.
I think what’s most interesting to me is that I’ve never felt so confused about not liking an album before. Reviews that state my opinion get a ton of comments to the effect of, “you don’t understand, would you say this about a man, it’s the record of the decade,” and I feel a bit crazy about my opinion. Maybe I don’t understand it? Maybe I’m too old to identify with the songs the way I did in my teens, and rely on the bops to keep me listening? Maybe Taylor has become so unrelatable that her “relatability” superpowers don’t work anymore? Maybe she’s not even trying to be relatable anymore.
I’m not sure, but I am so interested in why this album is so deeply polarizing in a way that does not seem to be about the music.
Probably too cynical but I get the feeling that she had most of this written or germinating and chose to date that specific guy based on the vibe, rather than the other way around...
I have been working really hard on my tendency to view everything in black and white terms and feel like I have made progress as I take in the TTPD discourse: seeing how often critics and fans alike want Taylor Swift to be all good or all bad, and figuring out why that is.
I have been thinking a lot about how much criticism she gets for not being our political or environmental savior (like, I think her suing the kid tracking her jet is stupid but also why is she the one that gets more shit for her carbon consumption than every other celebrity or politician?)
I have read many reactions to her album that insist that if she doesn’t like the cost of fame that she could just stop. I am not trying to white knight her here (see above about black and white thinking!), but this is total bullshit. She can be imperfect is how she handles her fame and still get to complain about it.
It also is weird to me how surprised people are that she might have quite a few songs about a shorter relationship after she ended a six year one. Have these people never had a breakup before and thought the new relationship was going to absolve all the mistakes of the last one? It’s the same heartbreak and growth period with the passion of a new relationship to make it feel extra high stakes.
Lastly, I am loving the album. I only got into Swift in the last year, so this is the first release I was tapped into and it has been fun to listen to it along with so many other people and understand the discourse! Like many others here I did think the songs all sounded similar at first listen, but the more I listen, the more I appreciate it. Not so much the extended tracks yet, but I assume they will grow on me.
I’m more a folklore/ evermore/ ttpd type person, so this album is my vibe naturally, more than Reputation or more pop stuff (it’s fun but “shake it off” type stuff is not my fave). Anyhow, I know she’s a classic white rich female like ballerina farm (must go there with you!), but I really respect the art. And I don’t know why, but Taylor feels a lot more feminism-forward than ballerinafarm. I guess I also relate to her Clara Bow insane asylum imagery. I feel like a lot of women feel “locked up” in one way or another.
I had a similar reaction that it sounded mostly the same but then the songs are still stuck in my head! Loving the song TTPD and my boy only breaks his favorite toys.
So, I'm a casual fan: I listen to what's played on the radio and saw The Eras movie with a girlfriend in the theater. I read lots of pop culture criticism in general, and follow a few Taylor specific people (Abby Gardner and BD McCloy).
I am shocked, as most people, I think, at the depths of Taylor's feelings for Matty Healy. And I wonder if Taylor was more into him because he was so different from Joe and from other guys she dated. I was also shocked at her anger with her fans (not saying it wasn't deserved) because SHE was the one to encourage the behavior. SHE started the random capitalization (it's immature at this point, we can figure out the song is about Kim), SHE is the one throwing the Easter eggs and throwing up a peace sign (or is it the number 2?) that now signifies a double album. I know she's entitled to change her mind, but will she change her behavior to start a new private Era, or just complain instead?
I do like some of her songwriting, but find she repeats a lot of the same imagery, let alone actual words. When I read that a lyric was 'touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto' I thought it was a joke. Poor Travis, Taylor is intellectually obsessed with Matty, and he gets heavy handed football imagery instead. And Joe is dispatched quickly in her haste to get with a bad boy druggie after being cooped up in the house with him for too long. What an end to the 'Lover' era!
I'm, seeing now that people are already re evaluating their takes after letting time pass, and that's great. It's not for me, but I'm not her true audience anyway.
That was my first thought: omg are almost all of these songs about Matty?!!
The Tortured Poets Department is a concept album based on the life of Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes. Naturally Swift weaves in her own experiences (even specific details) but ultimately the songs are not about Swift's ex's individually or in sum total, the arc of the album is Plath's life. If you truly want to understand this album you'll need to read Plath & Hughes. Swift's mastery is not singularly for music, but encompasses poetry and literature as well. The song "Robin" may also be about Robin Williams (in addition to referencing her collaborator’s son Robin, and other meanings including her singing this to her younger self), another tortured artist who lived with depression, the song weaves in titles, themes, imagery from his movies. It's likely most of the songs have hidden meanings about other "tortured poets". These songs are so richly layered with different meanings, and this technique is called "braiding" or "weaving" (all the braids in her hair). FYI Ted Hughes wrote a poem titled "Red", it's possible this (Plath/Hughes) arc covers the majority of her body of work going back several albums. TTPD is an album for erudite literature and mystery lovers, we may never uncover all her brilliance. It’s also possible that on May 3 we will get 9 more songs (or something) because Plath left TWO things when she died, 40 poems and a manuscript (she committed suicide). 😉
(No, I am not a “Swiftie”, I started listening to 1989, I’m 13 years older than her and prior to this album never engaged with any of her easter eggs. I’m just a nerd who loves to read including poetry.)
I initially had the same thought, that the sound was the same-old, that songs all sounded similar, etc. It didn't really hook me until the 3rd or 4th listen. Now I am obsessed. The lyrics are so raw, and her vocals so honest. The songs don't sound the same any more, either. My faves are I look in people's windows, So long, London, and another that I haven't heard people mention much: How did it end. I love how she addresses the mad curiosity people seem to have about the end of her relationship with JA, casting a light on their provinciality and salacious gossip. Overall I think the whole album is brilliant and might be my favourite yet, though I also love Folkmore a lot.